When halt was called for the day Nelson wanted hunters sent out. They hadn't stopped in any of the small towns and he wanted meat. Devin was happy that didn't include him, all he had was a broken warbow that he now tied up around his back. When the hunter’s came back empty handed Devin smiled a bit, if he wasn't eating meat then no one was. When it was time for Devin to pull watch he thought about nasty ways to get back at Conn but they were just fantasies. He wouldn't kill the man although he could have many different times.
The next couple of days were spent walking long hours and eating what Devin thought was the thinnest soup possible which was more potato broth than anything else. Nelson had ordered hunters to go out but they always returned empty handed which made the man angry. Devin had heard him yell at Conn to give Devin a bow and let him go hunt but Devin wouldn't have caught anything just out of spite. Conn never came up to him anyway, Devin didn't speak to the man until they had finally caught up with the army. The men looked worried, nervous and scared at the same time. Conn let them know that he was only supposed to be over fifty men and would give one group to the army to spread across and bolster the army.
The Royal Army had been in contact with the Savians and it was not going their way. Man on man the Royal Army held their own, at the end of the two battles they had the same amount of dead as the enemy. The problem was that during the actual battles the Savians died at a rate of two or three to one. During the night is when Savia would send over its Wizards to do damage. The men Devin was looking at looked like they hadn't slept in a while, they had bags under their eyes and looked like they wanted to pass out.
“Alright let me get fifty of you over here with me and fifty of you over there with Sergeant Drest. He is the man over there holding a quill and paper.”
Devin grabbed his bow and made sure to get lost in the crowd. He walked up to Sergeant Drest and made sure his name was written down and showed him his bow. Devin was given another bow, this one small like the others along with a small pike. Devin grabbed both items and was led over to a unit of men that were commanded by an actual Knight. The man frowned at Devin and the four other men that had followed him over. Devin didn't know what the Knight looked like since he wore a weird helm that only covered the nose up and sides of his face. There were little slits for eyes but Devin couldn't make them out with the way the man held his head.
“Archers,” the Knight said as it rolled off his tongue like a slur. “Do any of you actually know how to fight?”
“I don't ,” Devin said. “But I can make this bow sing even if it isn't the weapon I prefer.”
“Make it sing can you?” the Knight said sarcastically. “What happens when the elite troops come? They wear plate and your little arrows will not do anything to them. Even their horses wear plate and will run right over you. What do you plan on doing then?”
“Running,” Devin said truthfully. “But I think I will take a few of them down before that happens.”
“Your arrows are worse than worthless,” the Knight snarled. “Just make sure you use that pike when you find out your arrows are garbage.”
“I will do Sir Knight,” Devin said.
“Sir Knight?” said Toffey, one of the quickly trained archers that Sergeant Conn recruited.
“What is it?” the Knight said.
“I hear there are Wizards on the other side,” Toffey said.
“There are and they could kill ten of you without using any magic,” the Knight grumped. “With magic they can clear out the field quickly and get to their targets. They have been making nighttime raids using their magics to get into camp and start the killing.”
“Well what are we doing about it?” Toffey asked.
“Not your business,” the Knight said. “It is bad enough that I have to run around and lead you soldiers, I am not going to answer every stupid question you have as well.”
“What do we call you?” Devin asked.
“Knight Jeffries,” the Knight said and spat. “The way we fight is simple. You pikemen hold up your pike and you better not drop it. Archers will fire into the incoming horde and if the enemy gets past that, you pikemen drop your long pike and pick up your shields and arm yourself with your mace. Archers, you drop your bows and pick up your short pike to fight with. We just have to hold the line for a bit.”
“Where will you be?” Toffey asked.
“I am not like your so called officers,” Knight Jeffries said. “When it happens I will be right in the thick of it. I owe these bastards a killing and they are going to get it. They killed my Squire two nights past, tomorrow will be the first time we are regulated back to the front line and I aim to kill at least five of them.”
“I can back you,” Devin said.
“Unlikely with your little bow,” Knight Jeffries said. “They have shields, poor shields but they are good enough to move away your little arrows. We win with the pike, the long pike and the shorter ones.”
“I guess you don't like us much,” Devin said. “I’ll stay out of your way and do my job. Not sure what I was thinking.”
“And what does that supposed to mean?” Knight Jeffries said and Devin could tell by the frown on his lower face that he was getting angrier.
“It is just that I always wanted to be a Knight,” Devin said. “I thought my first time meeting the Squires was a case of a bunch of bad apples. Then I met the Knight Commander and now that I have met you, I don't know what I was thinking.”
“That you don't match up,” Knight Jeffries said. “You have some muscle on you but you are too short and unskilled.”
“That is not it at all,” Devin said. “Now that I have met you all, I have no idea why I looked up to any of you.”
“Listen here you little shit,” Knight Jeffries said. “If we weren't in the middle of a war I would smack your ass like your Da should have done. You just be ready for when it starts.”
Devin decided not to push the issue further and just nodded. His group would be up tomorrow so none of them had sentry duty. Devin was led by another of Knight Jeffries men, a man who looked in his late twenties over to the area where they would sleep. Knight Jeffries had them deep in the bush, it was uncomfortable and had bugs and things crawling all around in it. It was difficult to get in and get settled but soon found out that was the point. Wizards attacked at night and the little tents the Army used were easy pickings. Devin got settled on the ground and decided maybe he could find a better place in the trees, if someone was coming to kill him he wanted to be able to use his bow. Devin left his bed roll and other items including his broken bow and climbed a tall but stout tree with his issued bow and arrows. Climbing the tree was easy, it had always been easy to him as he got high enough that he would be difficult to spot for someone not looking for him. He could see Knight Jeffries look up at him in disgust, Devin knew why the man wore the odd looking helm.
Knight Jeffries had suffered terrible burns, or he was mutilated or both. The tip of his nose was gone which let people see into his nostrils. Horrible burns were all over his head and the man had no eyebrows or hair. He just looked up at Devin, then shook his head and put his helm back on. Devin looked out and could see the entire camp, there were a lot of them and many people were busy working. Pits were being dug, earth walls were being built up and it looked like a group of men had a small model of the camp and the battlefield. What caught Devin’s eyes was a gathering of archers. None of them had a pike or were with pikemen, it had to be close to four hundred of them and they proudly wore their bows on their backs. Devin put them out of his mind and thought about other weapons. He still needed help in the sword and any other fighting he could do. The only thing he thought he did decent with was the bow.
The day turned into night and Devin felt himself getting sleepy. He hung his bow and quiver on nearby branches and tied his leg off to a branch using his belt. If he fell he wanted the ability to wake up and hopefully get himself out of the situation. Dell wasn't sure how long he slept, he woke up when h
e heard the sounds of men screaming followed by the clanging of swords. Devin couldn't see any attackers near him and started scanning the camp. It was dark out but Devin always had excellent sight, he thought wherever the action was, it had to be covered by a tent or something. A bright flash of light caught his eye, it wasn't light but a fireball. Men were screaming and Devin was sure he saw one person running around on fire. The sight sickened him and Devin vomited. It came and didn't end until he was finished. By that time the camp was up and torches were being lit. The screaming had stopped and men were out looking for the intruders, Devin knew they wouldn't find any. The Wizards had come, killed and were now gone into the night.
Devin grabbed his bow and kept it gripped in his hands until morning. He climbed out of his tree and grabbed his things to get ready for the morning. No one said anything, not even Knight Jeffries wanted to speak. Devin grabbed his pike and started carving a small letter D into the small shafts of his arrows, when he took down the enemy he wanted them to know it was him who done it. Knight Jeffries snatched one of the arrows then looked at Devin and tossed it down. Devin didn't know what the Knight thought about it and didn't care. Breakfast was eaten quickly, they were one of the first to go through the line since they would be needed early. Once they were set, Devin notched an arrow and fired it. Wherever it landed he knew that would be the limit of his bow.
“What are you doing boy?” Knight Jefries asked.
“Finding my range,” Devin replied. “That is about a hundred and thirty paces so I shouldn't shoot until they are within a hundred.”
“You forget about that nonsense,” Knight Jeffries said. “Just remember when I say put down your bows you raise your smaller pike so our long pikemen can back away and get reset or pull out their weapons.”
“I will do my part,” Devin said.
“You better,” Knight Jeffries said.
Devin could see they were off to the side. They wouldn't be in any position to stop a flanking movement but they should see some action. The plan was clear, no one in the middle had a big pike, just sword and shield. The plan was to funnel people towards the middle so everyone on the sides could attack. Devin held his bow and could see the enemy had started massing. Devin took a sharp breath as Knight Jeffries started talking again.
“If we got horsemen, they carry their own pikes,” Knight Jeffries began. “If it is their elite, they have lances and will be well armored much like I am. Your main duty if you see the horse is to pull the man riding it off. You folks with the pretty bows may be able to take the horse down. If we are still fighting peasants then watch out for their small shields.”
Devin said nothing and waited. Loud horns blew and Devin could hear drums being played as well. The enemy started shouting and he got nervous. Devin found his calm place, he was with his father and Farelin learning the bow for the first time. Devin saw the enemy rush but focused on the fun he was having learning to shoot. Devin drew back his bow as dirty looking men ran towards him leading with their shields. Devin sighted his arrow and fired, before the arrow struck he had another already loaded and fired at another enemy. The first arrow struck his target in the navel, right below the area the shield was covering. His next arrow went through a thigh and Devin thought that was the way to go. Arrow after arrow flew from Devin’s bow and the enemy was falling over themselves right in front of him. He could hear screams but kept firing as fast as he could. Devin felt strong hands behind him yank him back as he saw he was out of arrows.
“Here,” Knight Jeffries said as he pushed a full quiver of arrows into Devin’s chest. “You stand back and keep firing, don't hit any of my men.”
Devin saw Knight Jeffries as he filled the spot that Devin was holding and smiled. He had proven to the man he could handle himself and Devin nocked another arrow as the attackers reached the pike line. They used their shields to move the pikes out of the way, unfortunately for them it opened them up to fatal arrow fire. Devin waited for the right shot and took it. The enemy didn't see what was going on until too late as they fought through the pike line. Devin thought he had taken out ten of the enemy before they got through the pikes and were now in up close combat. Devin picked his targets more careful since there were a lot of bodies moving around. Whenever he had a clear shot he took it but mostly he just stayed back waiting. The enemy started pushing forward and was careful to avoid Knight Jeffries, the man had a tower shield and an axe and was chopping into men while his armor turned away most blows. Devin took off running and used his elusiveness to sneak through the fighting men until he had gotten behind them. It was as easy as shooting the side of a barn as he started pumping arrow after arrow into the backs of the unaware enemy. When Devin ran out, he picked up a shield and a sword from the downed enemy and went after them. Devin felt bad for killing men who didn't realize he was behind them, that didn't stop him from swinging the short sword he picked up until his arm got sore.
The enemy eventually pressed on in some areas. Knight Jeffries had his men start falling back and grabbing their weapons while they did. The enemy seemed loathed to follow them, they knew they had lost a lot and many of their men now lay injured, dead or dying on the field of battle. Devin thought they had lost at least fifty men and could see Knight Jeffries had also taken casualties, three of his lay dead as well. Knight Jeffries fell his group back until they met up with the other sides of the line. Eventually the enemy backed off but they had killed a decent number of the Kingdom’s men. The Savians were nothing to play with, Devin thought. The army stayed ready to fight for another hour after the enemy retreated and rest was eventually called.
“You there boy,” Knight Jeffries said walking up to Devin. “You did good work. Best archer I have ever seen. You saved many of my men out there today. We are going to mourn the dead but we didn't lose many and the enemy knows we were a tough battle. What is the story behind the broken bow you carried?”
“One of the Sergeants broke it when he thought I was trying to run from the army,” Devin said. “When he found out I just went hunting, he took my kill and laughed at my bow. My Da bought me that, it had a strong pull on it and I could get three hundred paces accurately with it.”
“Three hundred paces,” Knight Jeffries said. “Go grab your bow and point out this man to me.”
Devin went to grab his bow while Knight Jeffries waited. When Devin returned, Knight Jeffries was there waiting for him along with Toffey who was telling Knight Jeffries another view of the story about Conn and the bow. Knight Jeffries weaved through the camp and asked a few questions. Soon there were seven other Knights and their Squires following behind him as Devin finally saw Sergeant Conn talking with the noble Leftenant Nelson. Devin pointed him out, Knight Jeffries snatched the broken bow and walked right over.
“You are the man who broke my Squire’s bow?” Knight Jeffries said as he looked at Sergeant Conn who was taken off guard.
“What?” Conn said as he got to his feet.
“You broke my Squire’s bow,” Knight Jeffries repeated. “The story is that you broke his bow and took his kill. Is that what happened?”
“No,” Sergeant Conn said quickly. Knight Jeffries turned to look at Devin.
“Yes you did and any man who marched over here will back my story,” Devin said.
“Then I will ask them,” Knight Jeffries said. “And if you are found lying as a commoner to Knight in service to the Kingdom….”
“Wait,” Sergeant Conn said. “I didn't know he was some Squire. He came in with some letter saying he was going to be a part of a General’s personal security team. We needed archers, even Prince Victor signed off on it.”
“And what did that have to do with breaking a bow of this quality?” Knight Jeffries said as he tossed it at Sergeant Conn’s feet.
“Well I thought he was deserting,” Sergeant Conn said. “He is the best archer I brought. He shouldn't even be over there with you. My Leftenant went looking for him but he was gone. He should be with us.”
&nbs
p; “What does that have to do with anything?” Knight Jeffries said. “When you broke his bow, was he near your camp or did you have to hunt him down.”
“He had just entered camp,” Sergeant Conn said. “But never told anyone where he was going.”
“Did he miss movement?” Knight Jeffries said. “Or were you stopped for the day?”
“Doesn't matter,” Sergeant Conn said. “He never said he was leaving.”
“That bow is now yours,” Knight Jeffries said. “You will pay to replace it or suffer the justice of the Kingdom.”
“He already has another bow,” Sergeant Conn said.
“The same type of bow you broke?” Knight Jeffries said. “If not then this needs to be fixed. Stop looking at your Leftenant, not even he will interfere with the Kingdom’s justice keepers. You have a week to make this right or show that you are trying to. A daily report needs to be given. This meeting is over.”
Devin was surprised Sergeant Conn didn't puff out his chest. Then again Knight Jeffries was huge and so were the people with him. They were well armed and armored, fighting them would have been tough to do. Did Knight Jeffries call him his Squire? Maybe it was said in the moment to scare Sergeant Conn. Devin knew he definitely heard it though. As they walked back to their camp Devin thought it was a wonder they hadn't been pushed off of it entirely, The front half of the camp would have to move which would leave Knight Jeffries men now in the middle or towards the front if more people decided to move. The Knights broke off with their Squires and went their own way, Knight Jeffries dismissed Toffey and then took off his helm and looked at Devin.
The Wizard Page 5
